N-Gage News Network: March 2006 Archives

Nokia Video From Last Year's E3, A Hoax?

Tsk Tsk Tsk. Nokia have not made any significant announcements regarding the N-Gage at this year's GDC and just today we have heard that there will be no new games coming out for the N-Gage. After all the drama in the past few days, we thought there couldn't be any more action yet there is. Delixe, Losburittos,Stingwormhole,phalnax,gurama and wukong from the N-Gage forums have supported the claim that Nokia's video from last year's e3 is a fake. They claim that that piece of hardware was not a mobile device and could not be moved from the table it was on. This is not meant to be an attack on Nokia or the Arena team, all we want is the truth!

Examine the images below and draw your own conclusions!

Click here to see where it all started!

Click here for the original video!

Posted by phalnax at 02:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Rumor Control

An extremely reliable source at Nokia has told us some very interesting things. First of all, we might see a few more titles for the N-Gage Game Deck. We have been told that a Nokia golf game was 90% complete and that we may see that out. Our source said that there is absolutely nothing going on at Nokia regarding the N-Gage. We have been told that some titles have been moved to Nokia's Next-Gen Lineup. No news about what's going to happen at this year's e3. Let's keep our hopes up.

Posted by phalnax at 01:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The End?

If you head over to www.n-gage.com you will notice that the "Upcoming Games" section has been completely removed from the site. This is extremely alarming and at this point we don't know what to think. There have been no comments from Nokia on this but it seems as though there will be no more games coming out for the N-Gage. It's a sad day. We'll keep you updated as we get more news.

Posted by phalnax at 12:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Forum Nokia PRO Games Zone To Provide Advanced Support For Next Generation Of Nokia Mobile Gaming!

San Jose, CA, 20 March 2006 – Nokia (NYSE: NOK) today announced the launch of its new Forum Nokia PRO Games Zone, providing mobile developer companies seeking to tap into the $2.43 billion worldwide mobile gaming market with access to advanced knowledge and technical support in the development of games and entertainment for the growing mobile consumer market.

The new Forum Nokia PRO Games Zone, launched here during the annual Games Developer Conference (GDC), joins an expanded Mobile Games section on the Forum Nokia community website to provide comprehensive developer support for Nokia's next generation mobile gaming initiative, designed to speed integration of all current Nokia mobile games activities, including N-Gage and Nokia's SNAP Mobile solution for connected mobile gaming on Java^TM technology compatible handsets.

The Forum Nokia enhanced Mobile Games section provides extensive technical and business information on mobile games development to more than 2 million registered members of Forum Nokia, the world's largest dedicated mobile application developer community. The Forum Nokia PRO Games Zone will provide Nokia's fee-based, 400-plus member Forum Nokia PRO developer program enhanced business development support and exclusive access to in-depth technical information, enabling participants to speed mobile games revenue growth.

According to UK research firm Informa Telecoms & Media, the mobile gaming market surpassed $2.43 billion in worldwide revenues during 2005, with Informa analysts projecting total mobile games revenues worldwide to reach nearly $4.02 billion by end-2006 and soar thereafter, topping $10.17 billion in revenues by the end of 2010 – with connected mobile gaming accounting for more than 30% of the total.

"Forum Nokia PRO Games Zone and expansion of the community games section shine a spotlight on Nokia's mobile gaming leadership, from the first-ever mobile game - Snake, launched in 1997 - to the N-Gage platform and SNAP Mobile," said Lee Epting, vice president, Forum Nokia. "Forum Nokia has a great history of supporting mobile game development of which the new PRO Games Zone is the latest example, further enhancing the developer offering, providing easy access to all platforms and programs related to Games in Nokia and exclusive benefits for PRO members."
Strengthening Nokia's games developer support within a common framework for Nokia's next generation mobile gaming will add impetus to the growth of mobile gaming development, increase business opportunities for Forum Nokia members and attract new developers to Nokia's mobile gaming ecosystem.

"Harnessing Forum Nokia's expertise to provide developer technical and business support for the N-Gage platform makes perfect sense as Nokia advances its current and future games initiatives within an increasingly unified framework," said Jani Karlsson, head of games technology strategy in Nokia Multimedia. "Forum Nokia's launch of the new PRO Games Zone is an ideal example of the level of developer support that will help bring N-Gage's superior mobile gaming experience to millions of smartphone users around the globe."

"Developers interested in working with the SNAP Mobile solution will find in Forum Nokia's PRO Games Zone all the information, tools and support needed for the quick creation of quality, connected Java mobile games," said Lisa Waits, head of SNAP Mobile. "Access to Forum Nokia's extensive developer support resources means that high-quality Java games titles from developers working with SNAP Mobile's developer-friendly system will be more available to operators and more likely to get picked up and played."

The new Forum Nokia PRO Games Zone will be administered through the Americas, EMEA and Asia regional operations of Forum Nokia PRO and joins other specialized developer offerings launched by Forum Nokia PRO over the past year – including the Forum Nokia PRO: Flash Zone, the Forum Nokia PRO Symbian Zone, the Forum Nokia PRO Enterprise Zone and Forum Nokia PRO Networks Zone.

Forum Nokia PRO offers developer companies access to valuable business development and technical support resources, including events, marketing and public relations support, technical platform roadmaps, discounted devices, pre-release tools, SDKs and code samples for Java, C++/Symbian OS or SNAP Mobile developers, as well as increased awareness in Nokia channels and joint-marketing activities. Forum Nokia PRO Games Zone benefits also will include access to specialized resources, such as games-specific market research and reports and technical games roadmap.

Further information on developer tools, resources and technical documentation available through Forum Nokia PRO and the Forum Nokia PRO Games Zone can be found online at https://pro.forum.nokia.com/site/global/home/prozones/p_prozones.jsp. More information on the expanded resources available to developers through the enhanced Mobile Games section of the Forum Nokia website also can be found online at http://www.forum.nokia.com/games.

Developers wishing to learn more about Forum Nokia and the Forum Nokia PRO Games Zone can also visit Nokia executives at Booth #616 during the Games Developer Conference at the San Jose Convention Center, March 20-24

Posted by phalnax at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nokia Simplifies Creation Of Online Gaming Communities For JavaTM Technology Games!

San Jose, CA, 20 March 2006 – Nokia, the leader in mobile communications, announced today the launch of a business solution that enables operators and publishers to create online communities for mobile Java games in days, rather than months. Operators who choose SNAP Mobile's Starter Kit or Standard Package can have their users hosted on the SNAP Mobile Community, a full-featured, generic website, which creates an online gaming community almost instantly.

SNAP Mobile offers a full-featured, turnkey gaming community infrastructure that connects mobile gamers via Nokia's SNAP Mobile gaming platform. Building on the inherent social aspects of mobile phones, these communities can be accessed by gamers' PC web browsers and internet-enabled phones.

"Mobile technology was born out of the fact that people are social by nature and demand the ability to communicate outside of their offices and family rooms," said Lisa Waits, Head of Nokia SNAP Mobile. "We asked why shouldn't mobile gaming offer the same and we're answering with our plug and play community solution for operators and publishers that will deliver a seamless, social experience for gamers."

Nokia's SNAP Mobile online communities give mobile gamers the ability to communicate in-game with friends, strangers and co-workers all the time, anytime, and deliver a variety of in- and out-of-game features. In-game, players will have their own unique user identities, as well as features such as friend lists, presence, rankings, chat and instant messaging. Out-of-game, users will not only have the ability to maintain their unique user identities and view rankings, but will also have at their disposal news and events, message boards, and featured gamepages.

In addition to being a win for mobile gamers, SNAP Mobile provides operators and publishers with a highly effective, low-cost way opportunity to increase online usage and downloadable game sales.

"At the heart of our commitment to offering online communities was the requirement that this offering be easy to implement," continued Waits. "We want to bring long-term solutions and easy to use technology to a broad base of players in the mobile content market. The result is happy operators and publishers as well as ecstatic, connected gamers."

Nokia's SNAP Mobile is the ideal hosted solution for operators who want to create a gaming community site quickly, with no configuration hassles or up-front costs. Operators choosing SNAP Mobile's Premium Package provides a community website that can be fully customized to suit the operator's needs. A generic version is also available for more rapid deployment.

For more information on the Nokia's SNAP Mobile online communities, please visit www.snapmobile.nokia.com.

Posted by phalnax at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nokia debuts new mobile gaming solutions and experiences at GDC Mobile!

San Jose, CA, 20 March 2006 – Nokia today unveiled a new software development kit (SDK) and consumer interface for its next generation mobile gaming platform. The new tools and consumer interface are designed to empower the mobile games industry to create high quality 3D mobile games for Nokia smartphones.

"Our new SDK contains familiar tools for developers, making it easy to focus on doing what they do best – creating great mobile games," said Gregg Sauter, Director, Games Publishing, Nokia. "Our platform lets developers put their games in millions of pockets worldwide and these new tools ensure developers can get on board to take advantage of this fantastic business opportunity."

Nokia also showcased its next generation mobile gaming consumer interface, showing how consumers can easily discover, purchase, play, manage and share the best mobile games.

"With our new consumer interface, you get quick access to new games and information, it's easy to buy and manage your games, and share game accomplishments with your friends. You can play fantastic looking games for a great overall entertainment experience in your pocket. This new consumer interface is going to transform the way people find and play mobile games," continued Sauter.

The new developer tools include Game Development Libraries, based on C++ programming libraries, which will be available across multiple devices. The Game Development Libraries can be updated on the devices for resolving compatibility issues, and adding new features, including industry standard DRM solutions for content protection with minimal integration. Developers can also take advantage of the real-time connected gaming and community features enabled by the N-Gage Arena.

Nokia provides a professional development environment with debugging and analyzing tools such as on target real-time debugging and profiling over USB. Developers also have access to world class developer support through the new Forum Nokia PRO Games Zone launched today.

Nokia's next generation mobile games platform is expected to launch in the first half of 2007, with a range of titles and devices.

Posted by phalnax at 09:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Walk The Plank!

Hail Maties! It now time to finish swabbing the decks and prepare yourself for another great tournament featuring High Seize for the N-Gage game deck. This elimination style tournament will determine who the best ship captains in the N-Gage Arena are, and who will be walking the plank into the cold high seas.

Click Here To Find Out More!

Posted by phalnax at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally, Nokia talks!

N-Gage Arena Administrator, "dsrainmaker", was in the N-Gage Clubhouse a few minutes ago and when we asked him to tell us something we didn't already know about The Game Developer's Conference 2006 he had the following to say:

"Ya, some games will be announced...some technologies, exciting stuff"

Look for updates as we get more information!

Posted by phalnax at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Payload Loses Shadow Racing!

The folks over in Finland must have drunk a little too much on St.Patrick's day as we have just found out that, Payload, the only game coming out in April has lost its online shadow-racing features. Unless Nokia launches the next-gen phones and games soon , the N-Gage community will be decreasing in size. Once again, what's wrong Nokia? Please let us know.

Posted by phalnax at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Has Nokia Gone Blind?

After the release of games such as High Seize and Pathway To Glory, Nokia had come to know that the N-Gage community demanded games with head to head online play. Nokia's biggest title for 2005, "One", was supposed to have a unique online system which was what really built hype around the title. This feature was cancelled a few days before the release of the game. Capcom's "Catan" suffered a similar fate as the Head to Head online play was cancelled a couple of days before it shipped. Warhammer: Glory In Death was one of the most anticipated titles for the console until yesterday when the "feature list" on the game's official page changed from having online play over the Arena to having only high-score uploading. Along with the disappearance of "Spirits" which was supposed to be released on the N-Gage platform sometime this year, it seems as though Nokia is trying to drive away N-Gage loyalists. It's a shame that Nokia would do this to N-Gage fans who have been with the handheld since its launch in 2003.

Posted by phalnax at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spirits Devs Speak Up!

Here's what they had to say when one of our writers questioned them about the disappearance of Spirits from the N-Gage website.

Great to hear from you and that you’re interested in Spirits. I’m afraid you won’t see it on the N-Gage platform but we’re currently working hard on Spirits and are really thrilled about it. It’ll be an awesome game. I can’t say much more at this stage but as they say: “Keep your eyes and ears open”. There will be Spirits news in a not too distant future.

Nokia loses another great game!

Posted by phalnax at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Dsrainmaker drops some hints?

One of Nokia's Arena Administrators, dsrainmaker, logged onto the live chat on the Official N-Gage forums and he told us some interesting stuff when asked about what Nokia would be doing at GDC 2006 and e3. He told us that Nokia would bring along a "couple" of games to show off at GDC and that they had something very "cool" saved up for e3. The plot thickens.

Posted by phalnax at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spirits still alive!

We've recently been in contact with someone from Nokia was at this year's CEbit exhibition and according to him, Spirits is still "very" much under development. He said that he had nothing to do with the arena and the "Spirits" forums but he said that the game would definately be released and had not been cancelled.

Posted by phalnax at 05:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HinterWars going commercial!

We have recieved written confirmation from Activate,the developers of HinterWars that the Beta-Phase of the game has ended and that it will be going commercial on the 1st of April. Subscription costs and packages have not been announced yet and there have been no updates on the official website, www.hinterwars.com.

Posted by phalnax at 05:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HinterWars Beta-Testing!

We have been playing the Beta version of HinterWars for over a month and will be posting up a review of the game, both the PC client and the Mobile client. Expect some exclusive screenshots as well.

Posted by phalnax at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The N-Gage News Network Podcast!

Work has begun on a weekly NNN podcast. We have arranged interviews with the arena's most talked about players, we might even interview a person heavily involved in the development of Pathway To Glory: Ikusa Islands if the response to the podcast is positive. Keep checking the site for more information.

Posted by phalnax at 09:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spirts: Cancelled Or Delayed?

Jadestone's MMO game for the N-Gage has vanished from the N-Gage website. The official forums have been removed and the game's page has been deleted? What's wrong? We've got no word from Jadestone but are trying to find out more as the news comes in. If this game has actually been cancelled, Nokia will have disappointed a huge number of faithful N-Gagers looking forward to the game.

Posted by phalnax at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Stingwormownage!

The Second Annual N-Gage Arena Player Awards celebrated the best and most active users in the N-Gage Arena community, as decided by you, the N-Gage gamers of the world.

Many awards were handed out, but no one walked away with more trophies than stingwormhole, who took three. Kudos to sting for being nominated in so many categories and walking away with three awards, as well as taking time out to talk to us about his involvement in the community and the N-Gage Arena 2005 Player Awards

Click Here To Read His Interview!

Posted by phalnax at 08:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Login For Loot!

Attention Players! Earn a chance to win some really great loot simply by logging in to the N-Gage Arena from your phone. Throughout the month of March, all players who login to the N-Gage Arena three or more times in the month, via the N-Gage Arena launcher or through a game, will be automatically entered to win some cool loot.